How did Telsin know?

[desi_sparta Awakened Object]

Hi Sharders, long time lurker, first time poster. I was just reading the lost metal for the 3rd time when I realized something. Teslin talks about Harmony turning into Discord as if she had first hand knowledge of the subject. How did she know? And whomsoever told her, how did they know about it? From a reader's perspective, it seems quite common knowledge since we have access to both Era 1 & 2 books along with our theory board but for an in-universe character to talk about the changed state of a divinity with such confidence seems out of character. Your thoughts?

Edited November 27, 2022 by desi_sparta

[Ookla the Leafy Noble-Blooded]

Personally, I think the other Shards may be able to tell that something is wrong at the very least. But it's also likely that Autonomy just knows that Harmony is not the true combination of Ruin and Preservation, but rather Discord. Maybe Autonomy told her?

Personally, that seems most likely to me, but I would love to hear others opinions on this!

[Returned Envisager]

I think that it could be an educated guess based on general Cosmere-awareness. If you know the basics of how Shards work with their Vessels and Intents you would be able to extrapolate a lot about a situation like Harmony's possession of two strongly opposed Shards. Harmony himself talks a lot about how his Shards' opposed natures impact his ability to take action, and other observers have noted that the issue seems to have gotten worse over time. Telsin probably doesn't have poorer access to information than anyone on Scadrial, so I think she'd have the generally required knowledge to figure something like this out.